If you love sneaking and hiding in shadows and one-hit stealth kills then Ereban: Shadow Legacy might be the game you’ve been waiting for. Packed with thrilling action and suspense, you’ll take on the role of Ayana, the last Ereban, a mystical race that has mastered the art of hiding in shadows. Combining this skill with a nice assortment of upgradable gadgets, prepare for a dark and mysterious adventure that will tax your patience and stealth ability.
Ereban’s gameplay is intentionally passive with most detections resulting in death and a restart from a conveniently located checkpoint. This leads to lots of trial and error, but thanks to some dynamic encounters and evolving gameplay, each replay feels original. The entire game is focused on exploration, puzzle-solving, and collection. This leads to my first issue with the game; the world is EMPTY; nothing to smash, no currency to collect, the only thing you really find in the world are orbs of Shadow Dust, the occasional note or diary entry, and scrap that can be used to power your gadgets. There are other items to be found like tech cards that will help craft and upgrade your four main gadgets, but these are extremely well-hidden. I was constantly finding crafting benches but never had resources to make or upgrade anything, and I was pretty thorough in my exploration of each map.
It may look like an open-world adventure, but Ereban: Shadow Legacy is quite linear in its presentation of a chapter-based story where you are scored and graded Devil May Cry-style on criteria such as completion time, deaths, enemies neutralized, bodies found, etc. You are free to replay chapters to improve your score and find missing collectibles but certain morality choices such as killing innocents cannot be changed.
The core gameplay element in Ereban is shadows and light, and whenever Ayana is in a shadowy area she can blend into the shadows, becoming this sparking fizzle of dark energy, almost like a burning fuse that you can control and move along any flat or vertical surface that remains in shadow. Obviously, this leads to incredible puzzle potential where you will find yourself crawling along a wall staying in the shadow of some distant item being cast by a distant light source.
Staying in shadows and crouching behind cover is just a part of your stealth concerns. Ayana makes lots of noise when running and landing from a jump, but she is able to merge into ground shadows just as she lands to mitigate excess noise. Ayana can only stay in shadows for so long and then she needs to recharge that ability. Recharging is fairly fast but something that needs to be properly managed, especially in the tricker puzzles and encounters. In shadow mode, Ayana can also pass through vents, gates, or other non-solid surfaces. She can even stand on a sewer grate and tap the RT to drop through the mesh and travel the sewers to pop up behind unsuspecting enemies.
Speaking of enemies, prepare to be destroying a lot of robots, big hulking humanoid constructs that come in a few flavors. You have your standard grunts and then these purple commanders who can repair any bots you may have disabled and not dispatched. There are also elite snipers camped out around the levels waiting to take you out with a single shot if you aren’t careful. There is a gadget you can use to return disabled bots back to the shadows, which will eliminate detection and alarms, avoid their possible resurrection, and improve your score. The stealth and spatial awareness required to navigate some of the more complex puzzle areas can be punishing, but when you finally do get past a troublesome area it’s a very rewarding experience.
There is an interesting story being told in Ereban: Shadow Legacy, both in expert voice works and in-game cutscenes as well as dozens of collectible lore entries that will flesh out the world and add some mood and possible motivation. The visual presentation is fantastic, with a painterly style that blurs the lines of nature, architecture, and technology. Purple splashes of paint indicate possible paths and various neon light strips illuminate the levels while providing realistic lines of defense against your shadow ability as do overhanging roof sections. The game runs flawlessly on my RTX4090 at 4k at 120fps, but I must say of all the games I have played since owning my 4090, Ereban has my fans running non-stop. Admittedly, the game world is quite large, but it is also quite empty lacking small details or even people you can interact other than your com-link companion.
Ayana is a cool character, both in attitude and design. She has some groovy clothes that change to indicate if she is in shadow or light, and a fun skill tree to explore along with those gadgets. There are only a few enemy types, and the one-hit kills from the rear or from above does get old after a bit, especially when you have to hide bodies or risk discovery and alerts. You will die often; it’s just part of the design, but I did find each retry was just as much fun as the others since events and gameplay can vary greatly despite being heavily scripted. Guards have uncanny detection abilities and the bright spotlights they will shine on you negate your shadow ability, making escape nearly impossible. There is one ability that you’ll acquire that will break you free from a robot death grip if timed properly.
I had fun with Ereban: Shadow Legacy. The mix of sneaking and stealth kills reminded me of classics like Hitman, Splinter Cell, and Assassin’s Creed; especially Mirage which shares a similar look and feel to some areas where you are scampering across tile roofs on sandstone structures. Expect a solid 6-8 hours to finish the game and maybe a few more to complete it. Aside from Achievements, there are no real reasons to replay the game much after you finish it, but with no way to reset your skill tree, you will need to replay the game from scratch two more times to get all the achievements. If you enjoy tension-filled stealth and sneaking around in shadows and even using those shadows for traversal, then you are in for a real treat when you dive into the exotic and dangerous world of Ereban: Shadow Legacy.
